Does Vitamin D Status Affect Mortality?

These days, many clinicians are checking vitamin D levels routinely. Patients with the lowest levels clearly are at risk for metabolic bone disease, which can be prevented with vitamin D supplementation. Another premise is that screening and supplementation will prevent a variety of disorders involving other organ systems. However, randomized trials in which researchers are examining the effect of vitamin D supplementation on mortality have not yet been completed, and not every observational study has demonstrated an association between vitamin D status and mortality.

In this U.S. study, 1500 relatively healthy community-dwelling men (age, ≥65) were randomly selected from participants in the prospective Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study (C…